There are a number of fluid dispensing combinations known in the prior art generally including a back plate or body and a cover hingedly or otherwise secured to the body so that it can be opened and closed with respect thereto and a refill cartridge or container, often taking the form of a collapsible bottle for refilling the dispenser assembly when the contents of the original or current container or refill cartridge has been exhausted.
Examples of various dispensers of this general type can be seen in the following patents: Kanfer U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,749; Bartasevich U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,772; Schroeder U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,267; Bell U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,236; Bell U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,877; Sears U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,659; Schroeder U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,227; Maddox U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,916; and Maddox U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,329.
Many of these dispensers utilize a collapsible bag containing the fluid with a box supporting the bag and with the pump attached to the bag so that the box and pump can be readily utilized to replace exhausted containers. Many others, however, also use a collapsible container or refill taking the form of a molded collapsible bottle such as can be seen in Banks U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,288 rather than a collapsible bag.
In general, the marketplace, particularly for skin care products, is interested in products that are packaged in sanitary and sealed containers to ensure that the products do not become contaminated during their life cycle in the dispenser. Also there is a desire to provide problem-free dispensers. To that end, a sanitary, sealed system wherein the refill cartridge or container is non-vented to the environment provides the highest degree of product quality to the end user. In such systems germs or other foreign matter cannot enter the container or cartridge to contaminate the contents once the container is filled.
To that end, as noted, collapsible bottles are gaining in popularity. These are soft or thin walled molded bottles which collapse completely similarly to the collapsible bag of the prior art, but are felt to have less of a tendency to leak because there are no seams or welds which can open and leak. Bottles are generally also easier to handle than bags and can be shipped without individual protective packaging such as the box described above.
A major problem encountered with collapsible bottles, however, is the inability to control the collapse geometry. In most cases, these bottles have fold lines in them which are designed to more or less control the collapse so that no jamming or dislocation of the bottle within the dispenser occurs as the contents are exhausted and the bottle collapses.
When such collapse happens though, even with the most elaborate fold line construction, the bottle will still tend to twist to one side or the other and cause the dispenser to malfunction unless such movement can be controlled. Otherwise, this can cause the pump and discharge nozzle to become misaligned and the dispenser to malfunction.
It is also the case with dispensers and refill cartridges or containers of this type that the dispensers are maintained by janitorial staff and it is desirable to check the actual product level of the container or bottle within the dispenser to ascertain whether replacement is called for at the present time or in the near future. It is desirable to avoid having to open the dispenser to conduct this inspection and, to that end, the prior art has utilized what are called sight windows which are clear transparent areas of the cover so that one can observe the level of material without opening the cover. However, the prior art sight windows have also proved to be somewhat less than fully trustworthy especially because the window is usually relatively small and also due to the fact that the dispenser assembly is closed during operation and its interior is essentially light-free at that time except for any light which might enter through the sight window, there is some difficulty in observing the contents.
Furthermore, the sight windows are generally located adjacent the lower end of the cover and really are only effective to disclose the actual product level when the contents are nearly exhausted or when the janitor has to actually open the dispenser to see the actual level of the product.
Furthermore, there is a problem with dispensers of this type which are frequently used in the healthcare field, for example, in that it is often the case that the cover is labeled or bears some indicia which indicates the type of material contained therein, e.g., soap, lotion, antibacterial solution, etc. In the prior art, these products are packaged in bags or bottles of a uniform nature and, therefore, while a given installation or customer may have a variety of such products in inventory, a problem is often encountered in that the product which is actually placed into the dispenser is not the one indicated on the outer surface of the cover and, therefore, the user receives something different from want he or she might have expected or desired. Therefore, it is felt to be desirable to provide some sort of keying arrangement wherein the dispenser will only accept the proper type of refill.
Accordingly the principal objects of this invention are to provide a dispenser which firmly and accurately retains the proper bottle or refill cartridge during use, one in which the contents are readily viewable from the exterior thereof and one in which refilling with the proper material is insured.